The Metopes of the West End of the Parthenon

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American Sctjool
of Classical <Stuliies
at atliens

THE METOPES OF THE WEST END OF THE
PARTHENON

[Plates Y, VI]

The metopes of the west end of the Parthenon have never
hitherto been treated on the basis of a near examination because
of the difficulty and apparent unprofitableness of the under-
taking. The staging, however, erected here in the year 1896,
for the purpose of repairing the .entablature and other high
portions, has made it possible to inspect closely the centre
of the metope frieze extending over six metopes. Free
access to the staging was readily granted me by Mr. P. Kas-
triotes, Ephor of Antiquities in charge of the Acropolis, whose
courtesies were numerous and helpful, and a close examina-
tion revealed the fact that in many particulars the metopes had
been neither described nor drawn correctly.

The metopes accessible from the staging are the least well
preserved, so that a study of the remaining eight was likely to
be more profitable. By the kindness of Dr. Dorpfeld, the rope
ladder, which Dr. B. Sauer used for his well-known work on
the Parthenon pediments, was obtained, and with the aid of
this I could examine the metopes close enough to handle them
and to take measurements. I was able also to project the
ladder far enough from the architrave to make photographs,
some of which, to be sure, are not satisfactory, but the difficulties
of taking them at all were great and these difficulties were
often much increased by high wind. I succeeded, however, in
examining the end of the building twice, while Mrs. Ebersole
remained within easy hearing to make note of all observations

American Journal of Archaeology, Second Series. Journal of the 409

Archaeological Institute of America, Vol. Ill (1899), Nos. 4, 5.

American Journal of Archaeology, Second Series Vol. Ill (1899) Plate V

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410 WILLIAM S, EBERSOLE

and measurements. I haA'^e also had the benefit of suggestions
from Professor Richardson and Professor Waldstein, who ex-
amined the metopes Avhere the staging permitted, and Mr.
Carroll N. Brown assisted me in many places where the work
was attended with more risk.

Professor Michaelis's Der Parthenon^ though published in
1871, still affords the latest detailed discussion illustrated by
drawings of our metopes. As Michaelis added to his own
treatment a statement of all that had been written before him,
and as nothing of moment has been said on the subject since,
— unless Petersen's Kunst des Pheidias am Parthenon und zu
Olympia^ 1873, be excepted, — whoever has anything to add
must put it mainly in the form of a revision of Michaelis's
work. The purpose of this paper is, first, to revise the descrip-
tions of Michaelis and to correct his drawings by the photo-
graphs,^ and then to make some observations of a more general
nature. The larger question as to what subject is represented
in these metope sculptures is worthy of separate treatment.
It ought to be added, however, that continued study and com-
parison of the reliefs tend to confirm the belief that the subject
is the conflict between Greeks and Amazons. These sculpt-
ures may doubtless share the distinction attributed by Kliig-
mann to Micon's painting in the Poicile, — that of having
helped to fix the mounted type of Amazon so prevalent in the
latter half of the fifth century and thereafter.

I

A nearer inspection, then, of the metopes has made it pos-
sible often to revise the statements and drawings of Michaelis.
On page 148 he Avrites : " Die Metopen der Westseite sind
noch arger zerstort als diejenigen der ostlichen Fronte, trotz

1 A set of these photographs has been deposited in the British Museum at the
request of Dr. A. S. Murray. On account of the broken and uneven surfaces,
the photographs sometimes fail to show details which were easily observed while
examining the marble.

METOPES OF WEST END OF PARTHENON 411

Cockerells Aussage, dass alle mit Ausnahme von VI und vil
geniigend erhalten seien um ihren iirspriinglichen Sinn zu
erkennen. vi und vii fehlen ganzlich ; in iv, X, xii sind nur
Reste von je einer Figur iibrig geblieben; viii ist aiisserst
unkenntlich geworden."

A near examination also of the metopes of the east front,
which are better preserved, would doubtless contribute much to
our knowledge. Cockerell's statement, however, concerning the
metopes of the west front is true, and Michaelis is in error as
to VI and vii : enough of vi remains to prove that it did not
contain a springing horse, while vii retains unmistakable evi-
dence of a horse and clear enough proof of the usual fallen
warrior. The statement in reference to iv, x, and xii must
also be corrected : on each are visible remaiiis of a second
figure, showing clearly the general motif of the group ; in
IV even more may be traced. That viii is not to be made
out is true, though it is clear it did not contain a horse of the
usual type.

Michaelis continues : " Leake hielt es fiir augenscheinlich,
dass immer ein Reiter mit einem am Boden liegenden Feinde
und zwei Kampfer zu Fuss miteinander abwechselten ; eine
Meinung welcher Cockerell u. a. beistimmten. Indessen ist
dieselbe in dieser Allgemeinheit unhaltbar. In i war sicher,
in XI wahrscheinlich, kein Feind dem Reiter hinzugefiigt, in
VIII dagegen, wo wir nur Fussganger erwarten sollten, scheinen
die Reste mit hinlanglicher Deutlichkeit auf eine Reitergruppe
hinzuweisen. viii befindet sich iiber dem mittelsten Inter-
columnium ; leider ist vii durchaus zerstort, und es kann daher
nur als Vermuthung ausgesprochen werden, dass auch an die-
ser Metopenreihe die Mitte, entsprechend der Hauptgruppe des
Giebels daruber, durch die Composition, also etwa durch zwei
Reitergruppen neben einander, ausgezeichnet war."

This entire passage needs to be corrected. The only varia-
tion from Leake's rule of alternation is metope i, and what
can be said to remove even this exception will appear below
under the discussion of i. Since it can now be stated that xi

412

WILLIAM S, EBERSOLE

did have a fallen warrior, that Viii did not have
a springing horse, and that vii was clearly a
" Reitergruppe," the statements in regard to these
metopes and the reasoning based thereon in the
foregoing passage are clearly wrong. How the
metope frieze in its present condition stands in
relation to Leake's rule is exhibited in Fig. 1.

Michaelis contiaues : " Ferner scheinen auch hier
Doppelmetopen vorzukommen, d. h. zusammenhan-
gende, iiber zwei sich erstreckende Compositionen.
So wenigstens erklart sich der einzelne Reiter in i,
mit II in Verbindung gesetzt; ebenso der xi als
fliehend vor einem Feinde in xii. Weniger klar
ist ein solcher Zusammenhang fiir iii, v, ix, xiii."

This pairing of the metopes on account of the
composition seems wholly unwarranted, and in one
instance it is even ludicrous. The combining of
VII and VIII into a " Hauptgruppe " of mounted
warriors, the point where Michaelis's reasoning
really begins, cannot stand. For, although vii is
a " Reitergruppe," as Michaelis conjectured, it is
of the ordinary type ; and viii, which cannot have
had a springing horse, was evidently the custom-
ary group of two warriors afoot, here very likely
lighting above a rock. The horse and rider in i,
if always as now without an opponent, do not so
reasonably belong with ii as with the entire series,
and this appears to be the only metope which did
not represent a complete action within itself. The
view that the rider in xi is fleeing from an enemy
in XII is inconceivable, even if it were not now
known that under the horse of xi was a man and
not "ein Felsblock"; for xii shows an almost equal

1 Let r. w. f. mean a rider with a fallen warrior under the horse ;
r., a mounted warrior without a fallen foe ; 2 afoot, two warriors
afoot ; and u. n. h., uncertain, but no springing horse.

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METOPES OF WEST END OF PARTHENON 413

combat and the enemy seems to be turned away from and not
toward the fleeing rider. It is difficult to see how in, v, ix,
and XIII can be closely related to their next neighbors on the
right. Each seems complete in itself. The rider in xiii, for
example, is wholly engaged with the enemy under the horse
and has no part whatever in the action of xiv.

The only sense in which two metopes represent a unit in the
composition is that in which from the rule of alternation any
two viewed together present a general motif which is seven
times repeated. The arrangement produces a decorative archi-
tectural member of characteristic simplicity, like bands of
carved or painted ornamentation. These present within a
short section the pattern, usually composed of two members,
which is repeated along the entire building.

The most reasonable view concerning the relation of our
metopes to each other is that, contrary to Petersen's but in
harmony with Overbeck's opinion, they present a frieze-like
representation of a battle. The warrior wearing the chiton
enters in spirited form at i and is seen winning when mounted
and losing Avhen afoot, until the scene ends in splendid defeat
at XIV.

The clearest way for me to supplement and correct the
descriptions and drawings of my predecessors will be to give
a brief description of each metope with photographic illustra-
tion. The numbering, as in Michaelis, begins at the northwest
corner.

I (Plate V). A mounted warrior moving to the right
and wearing a short chiton and a flying chlamys, sits erect and
extends the right upper arm almost straight back ; the left
hand touches the back of the horse's neck low on the mane ; the
right leg is drawn up and bent at the knee, and the left foot is
seen against the background under the horse and well to the
front. The horse is prancing ; the tail near the body is slightly
extended, but soon drops parallel to the edge of the triglyph.
The head, right forearm, and right lower leg of the rider, and
the head and both right legs of the horse are broken away.

414 WILLIAM S, EBEBSOLE

The original surface of the horse's hind quarter is 0.15 m. in
relief. There are no remains of a figure under the horse such
as is seen in all the other metopes representing a horse and
rider, though it is not impossible to think that an indepen-
dent figure might have been attached.^

Figure 2. — Metope from the West Ekd of the Parthenon :

No. 11 (MiCHAELIS).

II (Fig. 2). Two warriors afoot. The one on the right,
with left foot forward and body so turned that the most of

1 To insure uniformity one is tempted to think there may have been an oppos-
ing figure so completely sculptured in the round as to have been attached to the
metope block only at its floor, which is broken away, and at the horse^s shoulder,
which is also destroyed. A fair parallel is not wanting. A centaur metope
from the south side, no. 808 in the British Museum, had the Greek in front of
the rearing centaur attached by only three small points of contact with the
background. Besides, in the horse^s broken shoulder are two parallel grooves,
possibly the sides of deep holes bored from the breast, and in front of the rider^s
knee, a hole 0.007 m. in diameter containing lead, and in the lower right leg
another hole 0.007 m. in diameter containing a piece of a bronze pin. On the
top of the architrave block, at the proper place under the floor of the metope
(now broken away), there are pickings of the stone-hammer, which may possi-
bly have had to do with the projection of pins through the floor of the metope.
So much evidence exists for an uidependent figure. The spirit and workmansliip

METOPES OF WEST END OF PARTHENON

415

the back is visible, raises bis right arm above his head ^ and ad-
vances to the attack. The left figure, nude, and facing full
to the front, carries a round shield on the left arm and seems
to be withdrawing and on the defensive. Important among
the meagre remains of the right figure are the great toe of the

Fig THE 3. — Metope from the West End of the Paiithenon:

No. Ill (MICHAELIS).

left foot, and the throat and neck line. The left figure, much
broken, shows the attachment of the left foot, and, extending
back from the head, there is a slight elevation which suggests
hair or a cap. Michaelis differs concerning the right figure.

Ill (Fig. 3). A mounted warrior with the short chiton,
which extends to the horse's back, and with body inclined

of I is superior, and a figure in the highest possible relief would be fitting for
a metope so excellent in its fragments. If such a figure by the horse's shoulder
attacking or recoiling as in vase paintings, may be conjectured, the motif of the
rider's body and right arm would be appropriate. It certainly is not so for
attacking a figure on the ground ; and further, a figure so slightly attached would
be the first to disappear and would leave slight traces behind it.

1 Cf. a less erect group from the Mausoleum, Ant ike Denkmlller^ II, Taf. 16
(X, 35-36, and Heracles in Clarac, Miisee de Sculpture^ pi. 119, for the pose
excepting the head.

416

WILLIAM 8. EBER80LE

forward, appears to raise the right arm. The left hand
rests on the horse's mane as in i, though lower down. The
figure rides a prancing horse to the right whose tail, slightly
extended and then falling, is gradually flattened into the back-
ground. Beneath is a nude male warrior, ivho falling forward
to the right rests on the left hip and hand. His left leg is
drawn up until the heel is brought under the groin, and his
right leg lies along the floor of the metope, calf upward. The

Figure 4. — Metope from the West End of the Parthenon:

No. IV (MiCHAELIS).

square outline and flat surface of the fore part of the horse's
body underneath and the small patch above the rider's head,
which has never been dressed down, suggests unfinished work.
IV (Fig. 4). Two warriors afoot. The figure to the left,
which was probably nude, advances toward the right, with left
foot forward and left arm extended, from which there seems to
hang a chlamys or skin.^ The warrior has seized an enemy by
the hair or head. This second figure facing nearly to the fronts

1 Cf. Benndorf, Metopen von Selimmt^ pi. vii.

METOPES OF WEST END OF PARTHENON 417

and wearing a short chiton, carries on the left arm a ronnd
shield which forms a background and is seen on both sides of
the body ; the head and shoulders are forced to the right.
The left figure, of which Michaelis takes no notice, is broken
off almost fiat with the background, but, in addition to what
has already been indicated, the position of the right leg may
be traced. The torso of the right figure remains 0.16 m. in
relief, but the head, right arm, and legs are entirely gone.

Figure 5. — Metope fro3i the West End of the Parthenon:
No. V (Michaelis) «

V (Fig. 5). A mounted warrior, clearly without drapery,
rides to the right a rearing horse. The tail of the horse is
treated as in i and iii. A warrior lies beneath, nude, save for
a chlamys about the left arm. The figure has fallen to the
right and rests on the left hip and left arm ; the face is to the
front, and both legs are extended along the floor, the right
falling forward over the left. Of the rider nothing remains
except possibly drapery, but the broken condition of the marble
affords some evidence of position. Of the horse there re-

418

WILLIAM S. EBERSOLE

main portions of the neck and shoulder, of the tail, of the
left front leg, which is arched as usual, and of the left hind
leg, which reaches the floor beyond the middle of the metope.
Michaelis's drawing is blank on the left side.

VI (Fig. 6). There is a great hole in the middle of the
metope ; no evidence of sculpture remains except a small sur-
face 0.01 m. in relief about half-way from the top and 0.24 m.
from the left edg-e of the slab. There could have been no

Figure 6. — Metope from the West End of the Parthenon

No. VI (MICHAELIS).

springing horse, since traces of either tlie tail or neck must
have remained. This metope block was 0.13 m. thick at the
bottom and 0.09 m. at the top. Michaelis says simply "vollig
vernichtet," and gives no drawing.

VII (Fig. 7). A mounted warrior, apparently, rides to the
right a springing horse, with tail as in v, over a fallen warrior.
Few traces of the sculpture remain : of the rider only vertical
scars in the marble ; of the horse, the tail, part of the left hind
leg and foot, and a scaling piece of the hind quarter soon to fall.

METOPES OF WEST END OF PARTHENON 419

Of the fallen figure there remains only an elongated elevation
measuring 0.07 m., with probable waist curve, on the floor.
The warrior apparently lay to the right. The metope is 0.18
m. thick above and below. Michaelis gives no drawing, and
remarks simply " durchaus zersttirt."

VIII (Fig. 8). Not to be made out with certainty, though
there is a good amount of broken elevation. There were prob-
ably again two warriors afoot, the left one attacking over a

Figure 7. — Metope from the West En"i> of the Parthenon:

No. VII (Michaelis).

rock an enemy who is falling upon his knees to the right. The
portion of relief to the left cannot have been part of a horse, as
Michaelis proposes. It is more likely the right elbow of an
attacking figure whose body is partly turned forward. ^ The
mass on the floor, which is 0.20 m. in relief, and begins 0.30 m.
from the left edge of the slab, has scarcely the length, nor has
it the appearance, of a sprawling horse. The large semi-
circular hole in the upper left field of the metope, which has a

1 Cf. Benndorf, Griech. ii. Sic, Vasenhikler^ Taf. xxxvi.

420

WILLIAM S. EBEUSOLE

depth of 0.045 m. and an aVerage diameter of 0.04 m. (greater
inside), is difficult to explain. Cockerell's description is trner
than that of Michaelis.

IX (Fig. 9). A mounted warrior wearing probably ^ a short
chiton. The right arm was evidently raised, and extended
backward, the left reached forward to the horse's mane as
usual. The figure, as in i, rides a prancing horse to the right.

Fi<a:in: 8. — Metope fi^om the West End of the Parthenon:
No. VllI (Michaelis).

Beneath is a warrior who has fallen to the right -, his body,
with face to the front, is supported on the left hip and by the
left arm and hand, which are surrounded with a chlamys. The
figure is otherwise nude ; the right arm is parallel to the horse's
body, and the left leg lies along the floor, with the right
knee elevated ^ — a position much like that of the so-called

1 Too much injured for definite assertion. The broken condition of the relief
doubtless also gives the false impression that the figure sits sidewise on the horse
and faces to the front. The left foot does not appear under the horse.

2 The Greek architect, Mr. Balanos, in charge of the repairs now being made
on the Parthenon, refused to allow the free tops of the stanchions, where they

METOPES OF JVE8T END OF PARTHENON

421

'Cepliisus' in the north angle of the pediment above. The
large surface of 0.065 m. in relief at the back of the rider
cannot be the remains of a shield, as Petersen conjectures. If
this were true, not only would the shield be carried on the
right arm, but it would be worn on the front instead of on the
back of the arm. More likely the right arm was in front of a
mass of the flying chlamys.^ The upper portion of the rider,

Figure 9. — Metope from the West End of the Parthenon:

No. IX (MiCHAELIS).

the head and shoulders of the horse, and the head of the fallen
figure, beside other parts of the sculpture, are broken away.

X (Fig. 10). Two warriors afoot. The one on the right
advances to the left against an opponent who, wearing a short
sleeveless chiton and a chlamys, has fallen on the right knee to
the left. This figure, facing to the front, has the right foot

obscure a part of some of the metopes, to be sawed off, on the ground that
they were needed to retain the metopes in place. Fortunately, this is the only
metope which has any important part obscured by the intruding timber.
1 Fair comparisons are to be found on the frieze of the Mausoleum.

422

WILLIAM S, EBERSOLE

with heel up crushed tightly under the groin ; the left leg is
extended, knee down, along the floor, and the left arm, bearing
a shield, is uplifted in defence. Of the right-hand figure noth-
ing remains but a trace of the back, shoulder, neck, and head,
and two bronze pins in the marble behind the neck and the. top
of the head ; of the left figure the upper part of the body is
broken away, the folds of the chlamys fill the corner of the

Figure 10. — Metope from the West End op the Parthenon:

No. X (MICHAELIS).

metope, and the remains of the shield, though they suggest a
pelta, could belong to a round shield in a partly edgewise
position.^ Michaelis has no trace of the right hand figure.

XI (Fig. 11 a, H), A mounted warrior wearing a short chi-
ton and flying chlamys as in i rides a leaping horse to the left.
The right arm is raised and reaches backward, the left from
the elbow is extended to the horse's mane, and the pose of the

1 Cf. the frieze of the Wi\€ Temple, Ross, Der Tempel der Nike Apteros^
pi. xii^ the Magnesia frieze, Clarac, Musee de Sciilpture^ 111 E., no. 8 left, and
Furtwangler, Coll. Sabouroffj pi. 73, which is most similar.

METOPES OF WEST END OF PARTHENON

423

body is forward. The horse's right hind leg is stretched back,
giving it a different position from the usual one. Beneath
is a nude figure which has fallen to the left almost face
down, though slightly turned to the front; the right leg is
extended along the floor. The horse and rider are much
broken away. The broken remains of the fallen figure, 0.09
m. in relief, show among other surfaces the perfectly pi^eserved

Figure 11a. — Metope from the West End of the Parthenon:
No. XI. (Michaelis).

modelling of the abdomen as far front as the umbilicus, which is
included. Michaelis thinks the torso on the floor is •• ein Fels-
block, keine menschliche Gestalt,' and Petersen likewise sees
no ' Mann.'

XII (Fig. 12). Two warriors afoot. The one on the left,
carrying a round shield on the left arm, with right arm raised
and left foot forw^ard, advances to the right against an antago-
nist who seems to be on the defensive and retiring to the right.
Of the left-hand figure there remain the outline of the left leg
attachment and of the round shield, traces of the neck, of the

424

WILLIAM S. EBERSOLE

right foot, and of what seems like the attachment of the right
forearm raised to the shoulder ; of the right-hand figure there
is only a strip of what is probably the attachment of the lower
left leg and that of the foot or ankle of the other leg, 0.37 m.
to the left, and some traces of the line of the neck and
shoulder. The right figure is wanting entirely in Michaelis.

Figure 116. — Metope from the West End of the Parthenon:
No. XI (Michaelis).

XIII (Fig. 13). A mounted warrior, wearing a short
chiton, with body inclined forward, right leg drawn up, and
shoulders half to the front (the left arm is seen from the
slioulder to the elbow and is then extended forward to the
horse's mane), rides a lean, springing horse to the right. The
horse's hip bone is sharp and his flank sunken ; the tail is
extended straight for 0.18 m. and is then dropped almost at
a right angle. Beneath is a warrior who has fallen to the

American Journal of Archaeology. Second Series Vol. Ill (1899) Plate VI

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METOPES OF WEST END OF PAHTIIENON

425

right. The figure, nude save for the chlamys, which falls
about the right arm, rests on the right hip and is supported
by the right arm. The face is against the background; both
k^gs are drawn up ; the left is elevated, and the right knee is
projected into the background ; the left elbow rests against the
inner side of the left thigh, and the forearm is raised to the
horse. The head and right arm of the rider and the head
and right legs of the horse, as well as other portions, are

Figure 12. — Metope fro:\i the West End of the Pahtiienon :

No. XII (MICIIAELIS).

broken away. It is one of the best preserved of our metopes.
There is almost realistic extravagance in some parts of the
modelling.

XIV (Platb] VI). Two warriors afoot. The one on the
left nude and turned three-quarters to the front raises the right
hand to the right shoulder. The extended left arm bears a
round shield ; the left leg is advanced, and traces of the right
foot remain in the left corner of the metope. The figure
attacks to the right, and has seized with the left hand the head

426

WILLIAM S. EBERSOLE

or, perhaps better, the hair, which seems to fall to the rim of
the shield in two strands, of an opponent who wears a short,
sleeveless chiton tightly girt, and a quiver. This latter figure
falls to the right and, turned full to the front, rests on the left
knee ; the right leg is extended along the floor, and the arms
are raised over the head along the rim of the shield, giving the
whole body a semi-circular sweep. The sculptures are badly
broken and worn down, though this is the best preserved of

Figure 13. — Metope from the West End of the Parthenon:

No. XIII (MICHAELIS).

the western metopes excepting i. Of the left figure, the head,
right arm, and leg, and of the right figure, the right lower leg
are missing ; but, with the possible exception of the right
figure's left arm, the exact posture of both is clear from the
attachments. The position of the left figure's right wrist and
hand, in which there is a hole, is seen at the top of the right
shoulder. The broken edge of the left figure's right side stands
0.04 m. free from the background, and the modelling of the back
may be followed for 0.07 m., even past the spine, before the line

METOPES OF WEST END OF PARTHENON 427

of juncture with the background is reached. The modelling
and drapery in this splendid group,^ wherever preserved, are
rich though simple.

II

Some observations and discoveries in regard to the character
and workmanship of the sculptures, evidence of bronze attach-
ments, indications of repairs, lack of uniformity in the mould-
ings, and remains of color and decorations in color are worth
recording.

Character and Workmanship of the Sculptures. — The sculp-
tures were 0.20 m. or more in relief and had considerable por-
tions in the round. The highest relief at present is the broken
surface of the back of the fallen figure in xiii. Carving
beneath the surface of the background is seen in the grooves
of the chlamys folds in i, ii, and xiii, and inside the shields on
II (0.035 — 0.04 m.) and xiv. Under-cutting is common, the
deepest now to be discovered being 0.07 m. in depth; this
occurs under the skirt of the chiton which flows out on the
horse's back in xiii, and a like depth is found at the back of
the left figure in xiv. Evidence of the drill is frequently seen,
but the bottoms of drill holes are most numerous along the
front line of juncture of the left figure's advanced leg in xiv.

The principle of isocephalism prevails as usual, and the
horses are not all of the same size. The simplicity of style
and of arrangement tends to severity and to some monotony in
the rider groups, where no one of the horses shows the spirit
and the expressive treatment of the tail so frequent in the
centaur metopes.

Evidences of unfinished, perhaps, rather than of inferior work

1 This group with some variation is seen very frequently in later art. Cf.
Mausoleum frieze, Antike Denkmaler, II, pi. 16 (II, 3-4) ; Ross, Der Tempel
der Nike Apteros, pi. xii, o ; Stackelberg, Der Apollotempel zu Bassae, pi. vii,
20, (reversed) ; Robert, Antike Sarcophagreliefs, pis. xxxiii, 79 and xxxiv, 80,
and discussion there of comparisons v(^ith our metope ; Gerhard, Etrusk. Spiegel^
V, pi. 57 ; the Strangford shield of Athena ; a lamp, case C, terra-cotta room,
British Museum ; a vase, Furtwangler, Coll. JSabouroff, pi. 73, etc., etc.

428 WILLIAM S. EBER80LE

may be seen in the variety of mouldings, in the undressed piece
above the rider's head in iii, in the broad, flat, sketched appear-
ance of the horse's tail, and in the flat unmodelled under surface
of the horse's belly cut square as it is with the background in
the same metope. The same defects may be seen also on the
under surface of the horses in ix and xiii, and in the angular
bend of the horse's tail in xiii. Much of the modelling in
XIII, especially that of the lean horse, is almost extravagant and
savors more of Hellenistic realism than of earlier Attic work.
The groups showing figures on foot seem to have had more
dramatic quality, and xiv, particularly, appears to have been
of great excellence.

The usual conscientious painstaking of the workman is to
be observed in xi and xiv where the modelling of the under
surfaces within 0.02 or 0.03 m. of the floor is perfect, though
it must have been always concealed from view, being set back
0.20 m. from the edge of the taenia. Metopes x and xi did not
have the usual floor extending 0.15 m. and having a thickness
of from 0.05 to 0.06 m. These metopes are wrought (xi espe-
cially) with great care to the very lower edge of the block.
This brings the well-preserved abdomen of the fallen warrior
in XI, where Michaelis is most in error, so near the top surface
of the architrave that it is impossible to see it from the ground.
It seems as if, with some mysterious foresight, the work had
been done for display in a modern museum rather than for a
recessed position forty feet above ground.

Evidence for Bronze Attachments. — In every case where
preservation makes it possible (i.e, excepting in v, vii, and
ix), a hole may be observed in the left hand of the rider,
low down on the horse's mane, and the hand in iii, indeed, still
retains a bronze pin. This hole considered in connection with
one of like sort always found — excepting in vii and ix, which
are too much broken to show traces — at the horse's throat
0.05 m. below the lower jaw is evidence of a bronze bridle rein.

Holes of the ordinary size (0.0075-0.01 m. in diameter, and
0.02 m. deep) were discovered also at the neck and at the waist

METOPES OF WEST END OF PABTHENON 429

line of the warriors. At least one — that on the left figure in
XIV — among the holes found near the neck on seven of the
different warriors served evidently to fix a bronze weapon in
the uplifted right hand. The two bronze pins in x situated,
the one near the forehead, the other at the backward-turned
shoulder of the right figure, suit well the attachments for a
sword or other weapon raised above the head and extending
past the shoulder. The holes at the waist — usually on left
side — observed in six different figures — two draped and four
nude — may have served to attach bronze quivers or scabbards.

Piecing and Repairing. — The other holes found are very
likely evidence either of piecing or repairing. Such an expla-
nation of those which contain lead on the front portion of the
horse in I, is discussed in the note under the description of that
metope. It is possible that the bronze pin in the right lower
leg of the rider of the same horse may have been used to repair
a break, seeing that it stands in the middle of the broken
surface. Repairs by the use of such metal pins may be seen at
the tops of the columns now made accessible by the staging.
The large hole described in viii seems more like a dowel
socket, and recalls the archaic manner of piecing so readily
observed in the ' Tanten ' ; its location is where the head of the
left warrior may have been. There is no danger of mistaking
the effect of Morosini's bombardment for original holes. Dents,
and small shot which one may still pick from the marble, are
plentiful ; but the work of shot and shell, and that of drill and
chisel, are easily distinguished.

Evidence of repairs and piecing is most conclusive outside
of the sculptured figures. On the mutule above ix the third
gutta from the north is inserted with lead. It may also be
admissible here to note that the edge of the second triglyph is
slightly notched to make space for the too far advanced coronet
of the horse's front leg. Metope v is pieced out at the top by
a strip 0.025 m. wide, extending the entire length (1.44 m.),
and preserved unbroken to this day. This, of course, contains
the narrow moulding (0.015 m.) which finishes the metopes

430 WILLIAM S. EBER80LE

and triglyphs at the top. The successful working and perfect
joining of this fragile strip is one of the marvels of stone work.
A still more delicate joining and piecing may be seen in the
astragal moulding of xiv. The joints of the moulding of the
metope with that of the triglyph, here preserved at both ends
of the metope, are the most perfect mitre-joints conceivable.
It is worth adding that the graceful beading is still preserved
at the north angle of the metope as white and perfect as if
fresh from the hand of the sculptor. The most marvellous
instance of piecing was the affixing on this same xiv of sec-
tions of astragal moulding. Beginning at 0.07 m. from the
north end, 0.455 m. of the moulding were attached by the
employment of three rectangular dowels, 0.03 x 0.01 m. and
0.0125 m. in depth. The moulding has disappeared, leaving a
perfectly smooth joint at the north end, with the plain surface
of the metope beneath ; the first dowel hole is empty ; the sec-
ond and third are filled with broken dowels. The measure-
ments in centimetres of the added portion or portions are best
exhibited as follows:

How brittle marble could have been worked into a strip of
ornamentation so fragile and delicate (0.0125 m. in diameter),
and could have been affixed successfully, seems almost beyond
comprehension.

Lack of Uniformity in the Top Mouldings of the Metopes and
Triglyphs. — The exquisite astragal moulding in xiv dis-
cussed above does not continue along the entire length of the
west end. Three forms of moulding are found — astragal, half-
round, and square. Metopes Hi, vii, and viii, and triglyphs
7, 8, 9, and 11 are too much broken to show what kind of
moulding they originally had. The astragal form is seen on
metopes i, ix, xi, xii, xiii, and xiv, and on triglyphs 1, 2, 3,
4, 5, 13, 14, and 15 ; the half-round on metopes ii, iv, v, and
VI, and triglyphs 6 and 12; the square on triglyph 10.

METOPES OF WEST END OF PABTHENON 431

Metope X (Fig. 14) shows two forms, — astragal for two-thirds
of the distance from the north and half-round the rest of the
way. The distribution may be shown thus : ^

x u Ttt^ T^ V T7T "vir "sair jx jc inr jor zei "sjs

Why this variation? The astragal was certainly the com-
pleted form of moulding. The preparation of the ninety-two
metopes perhaps delayed the completion of the building and,
as minor details in stone work are commonly executed after
the block to be ornamented is in position, some of them may
have been hurried into place before they were entirely finished,
with the expectation of having them completed later. When
the corona blocks were placed over the metope frieze, the contin-
uance of the work may have been found difficult, or the neces-
sity of giving way to the operations of the builders may have
deferred the finishing touches until the difficulty of reaching
the metopes made the completing of details, if not finally un-
advisable, at least less immediately necessary, especially since
the difference could not be noticed from the ground. It may
be worthy of attention that the astragal is found at both ends,
and the uncompleted forms toward the centre, of the metope
frieze.

Color and Color Decoration. — The white, fresh-looking astra-
gal in the secluded corner of xiv, spoken of above, while it
contributes no information on the color scheme of the metopes,
doubtless owes its remarkable preservation partly at least to
the coat of pigment which covered it. Conclusive evidence of
color, however, is not wanting. Some traces of red were
observed on i, iii, viii, x, and xii. The half-round moulding
of V was covered with color the remains of which show a dark,
dull-brown hue. The angle of the corona block above iv, the
under surface of the corona above vi, and the upper left field
of XIV show sure remains of red. Red appears to have been

1 In the diagram A means astragal; R, half-round ; S, square ; x, all broken
away.

432

WILLIAM S. EBEKSOLE

dropped on the surface of the architrave by the gtittae of the
regula under triglyph 15. Spots of blue were observed on
triglyphs 6 and 14, and in the upper inner angles of the chan-
nels of triglyphs 5 and 15, there remained a dark incrustation,
doubtless of pigment, which turned to dust when scratched.
The painted meander pattern is plainly seen along the lower

Figure 14. — Astragal, and Half-round Moulding on Metope X.

edge of the corona above v and on the taefiia under xiv. The
eleven palmettos on the regula under triglyph 15 are almost all
preserved and can be accurately reproduced. These patterns
are now of a dark brownish color.

Lack of time alone prevented the continuation of my work to
the fine metope which remains on the south side, and to those
on the north side adjacent to the west end.

Mount Vernon, Iowa.

William Stahl Ebbbsole.